Brzeg (; Latin: Alta Ripa, German language: Brieg, Silesian German: Brigg, , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021)
The town of Brzeg was first mentioned as a trading and fishing settlement within fragmented Piast dynasty-ruled Poland in 1234.
Etymology
In older documents, Brzeg was referred to as
Civitas Altae Ripae, meaning 'city on the high banks' of the
Oder River; its name is derived from Polish
brzeg 'shore'.
(1841–1895), in his book of the etymology of [[Silesia]]n localities, states that in a [[Latin|Latin language]] document from 1234 the settlement's name was ''Visoke breg'' (, ; literally 'high bank').
A native or resident of Brzeg is known as a brzeżan, brzeżanin (male), brzeżanka (female), brzeżanie and brzeżaninie (plural).
History
Prehistory
The locality in and around present-day Brzeg has been settled by people since the
Mesolithic era, with the earliest signs of settlement between 8000 and 4200 BC, as concluded from archaeological findings in Myślibórz, Kościerzyce, Lubsza and Lipki. The early human populace left behind traces of
,
flint flakes and other flint related tools. The earliest signs of agriculture come around during the
Neolithic Era (4200–1700 BC). The Neolithic culture developed agriculture and
Domestication; this lifestyle led
Nomadic cultures to settle in the locality. The era saw the development of
weaving,
pottery and
mining in the Brzeg Plain, with archaeological finds in Brzeg, Buszyce, Prędocin,
Lewin Brzeski, Małujowice, Lipki, Myśliborze, Mąkoszyce and Obórki.
The time period of 1300–700 BC bears the existence of the Lusatian culture of the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. The culture settled in the region and in large continued to develop agriculture and the domestication of Ungulate. The natural economy of the culture was based on weaving, pottery and Metalworking. The Lusatian culture's populace that inhabited the Brzeg Lands was identified by archaeological excavations, revealing 17 individual localities, including 3 hamlets and 8 burial sites, namely a fortified wooden settlement in Rybna and an open-pit crematory in Pisarzowice (with 30 discovered burial sites).
To follow the Lusatian culture, which witnessed its decline around 500 BC, were the Celts, around 400–300 BC in Silesia, as identified with archaeological findings in Lubsza and Pawłów (located in the eastern vicinity of Brzeg). Around 100 BC, the peoples of Silesia (Celtic and Germanic tribes) began trading with the Roman Empire, as evidenced through the findings of Roman currency in the locality. In the 7th century Slavic peoples started settling in the region. At the same time Hand tool and blacksmith-based hamlets found in Kantorowice and Pępice are evidenced for the first time in this region.
Early Middle Ages
The period of AD 500–1000 saw the establishment of the early
feudal system in
Silesia. The era was characteristic of the establishment of gord settlements, towns and the continued development of
trade and
crafts. It is believed the permanent populace around modern-day Brzeg was set up by
Silesian tribes.
The first mention of the Silesian tribes is made in the mid-ninth-century document known as the Bavarian Geographer (), which included the Silesian gord of Ryczyn, located north-west of Brzeg, in the eastern Oława County. The Ryczyn gords became the main line of defence for the
Silesians, namely to protect the river trade routes along the
Oder river and the land trade route between Ryczyn (the locality's administrative centre, home to a castellan) and Brzeg (being some in length). The importance of the Ryczyn gords is demonstrated by Henry V of the Holy Roman Empire's army halting their advancement before the gords in 1109.
Between the ninth and early-tenth century, the Brzeg Lands, together with all of Silesia, were part of Great Moravia until its demise in AD 906, after which, until 990 the region was under the rule of the Premyslids.
Medieval Poland
Around 990, Silesia was incorporated into Mieszko I's Poland. During the Fragmentation of Poland (1138 – ), the area of the Brzeg Lands, along with the rest of Silesia, came under the control of King of Poland, Bolesław III Wrymouth's oldest son, Władysław II the Exile.
The most favourable area for the settlement of Brzeg is located between the Castle Square ( Plac Zamkowy), with elevated ground extending south-east towards the Square of the Polish Americans ( Plac Polonii Amerykańskiej). Before the town's foundation, three separate settlements existed in its modern-day territory, with "Wysoki Brzeg" ( Alta ripa) bearing the main administrative role in the region. Between the late-twelfth and early-thirteen century, the Dukes of Wrocław set up a curia, led by a claviger. In 1235, Henry the Bearded occupied the area around Oława, by which Walloons had to turn over a tribute of 1 scale of grain and of oat to the settlement of Brzeg, suggesting the existence of a granary and other outbuildings in the curia's established headquarters.
Some two hundred m south-west from the curia was the former location, on what was later to be called Mary's Hill ( Góra Marii), of the Romanesque St. Mary's Church ( Kościół Najświętszej Marii Panny). During the Reformation, the church was deconstructed, and its brickwork used for the construction of the town's fortifications. A sixteenth-century chronicle states it was "the first church", however, no more is known about the holy site. Historians believe the founder of the church may have been Bolesław I the Tall or Henry the Bearded. Around the peripheries of the settlement was the location of several hospital buildings.
Prior to Brzeg receiving its town charter, the Duke of Wrocław, Henry III the White, received the settlement of Małkowice, (present-day Kępa Młyńska), in exchange of his Feudalism over Zębice (south-west from Oława). The fishermen living in Małkowice (present-day ul. Rybacka), in accordance to ancient Polish law were charged with the task of protecting the Brzeg Castle along the riverside. By the turn of the thirteenth century, the defenceless populace living in the pastures of the Brzeg Plain began to relocate into the fortified Visoke breg, building up a new osiedle around the present-day streets of: Łokietka, Piastowska and Trzech Kotwic (extending south-east). The osiedle was documented as Stary Brzeg (Latin language; German language), to be renamed Wieś Brzeska: German language (c. 1329) and Latin language in 1339. To the west of the fortified centre of Brzeg, the settlement of Rataje (a separate village until 1975) as the former village's etymology suggests, centered around the upkeep of the ducal pastures.
The town received German town law in 1250 from the Wrocław Duke Henry III the White. The foundation was carried out by the three lokators, Gerkinus of Złotoryja, Ortlif and Heinrich of Reichenbach (Dzierżoniów).
From 1311 to 1675 Brzeg was the capital of a duchy (Duchy of Brzeg) ruled by a local line of the Polish Piast dynasty, one of whom built a castle in 1341. The Duchy became a fief of the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1329. The town was burned by the in 1428 and soon afterwards rebuilt.
Early modern period
At the beginning of the 16th century there were two schools in Brzeg, a collegiate and a municipal school, both influenced by the scientific, cultural and literary currents of the University of Kraków.
In 1529 Duke Frederick II of Legnica, in attempt to establish the town as a significant learning center, merged the two schools, but the town council, wanting to maintain control over the municipal school, led to the two being split again in 1534.
[Barycz, pp. 178–179]
The town continued to flourish under the reign of Duke George II. George II maintained close contacts with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and its szlachta, and rebuilt the Brzeg Castle in Renaissance style, built the Renaissance town hall, established a new mausoleum of the Piast dukes and built a new gymnasium, opened in 1569.[Barycz, pp. 179, 181] The libraries of the old schools were merged into the newly named Piast Library.[Barycz, p. 179] The gymnasium became popular among Polish nobility, whose children were often educated there.[Barycz, p. 181] Among the graduates were Polish Royal secretary and poet and reformer Samuel Hartlib, co-founder of the Royal Society of London.[Barycz, pp. 182, 185]
In 1595 Brzeg was again fortified by Joachim Frederick of Brzeg and Legnica. In the Thirty Years' War it suffered greatly; in the War of the Austrian Succession it was heavily bombarded by the Prussian Army; and in 1807 it was captured by Napoleon's army. When Bohemia fell to the Habsburg monarchy of Austria in 1526, the town fell under the overlordship of the in their roles of Kings of Bohemia, although it was still ruled locally by the Silesian Piasts. Upon the extinction of the last duke George William of Legnica in 1675, Brieg came under the direct rule of the Habsburgs.
Late modern and contemporary
In 1537 Duke Frederick II of Legnica concluded a treaty with Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg, whereby the
of Brandenburg would inherit the duchy upon the extinction of the Silesian Piasts. On the death of George William the last duke in 1675, however, Austria refused to acknowledge the validity of the treaty and annexed the duchies and Frederick the Great of the Kingdom of Prussia used this treaty to justify his claim at the invasion of Silesia during the War of the Austrian Succession in 1740. Brieg and most of Silesia were annexed by
Prussia in 1741 during the
Silesian Wars.
[Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition, p. 180] In 1807 the town's fortifications were pulled down by Napoleon's army.
The Prussian Province of Silesia, and thus Brieg, consequently became part of the
German Empire when it was proclaimed in 1871 on the unification of Germany. Despite Austrian, Prussian and German rule, the town was an important Polish printing center in the region.
During World War II, the Germans operated two Nazi prisons with three forced labour subcamps in the town and a fourth subcamp in Bielawa.[Konieczny, p. 377] 202 Polish citizens were murdered by Nazi Germany in the town during the war.
Traditional Garrison Town
From the late 19th century the then German town of Brieg had expanded into a traditional military
garrison town, from 1897 until 1919 it was the home town base to
Infantry Regiment No. 157 designated from 1902 the 4th Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 157 (
4. Schlesisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 157) of the Royal
Prussian Army and respectively the Imperial German Army.
[Book Title: Das 4. Schlesische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 157. Nach den amtlichen Kriegstagebüchern bearbeitet (English: The 4th Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 157. Edited according to official war diaries.), Authors: Tiede (Generalleutnant), Himer (Hauptmann) and Röhricht (Oberleutnant), 1922, Publisher: Stalling, Oldenburg, Germany, in German.][Book Title: Das 4. Schlesische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 157 im Frieden und im Kriege 1897-1919 (English: The 4th Silesian Infantry Regiment No. 157 in peacetime and in wartime 1897-1919), Author: Hans Guhr (Generalmajor), Paul Tiede (General der Infanterie), 1934, Publisher: Bernhard Sporn, Zeulenroda (Thüringen), Germany, in German.] In 1914 under the regiment's last peacetime commander Lieutenant General
Paul Tiede the regiment began mobilizing for the Western Front at the outbreak of World War I as part of VI Army Corps (
VI. Armee-Korps), 12th Division (
12. Division), 78th Infantry Brigade (
78. Infanterie-Brigade).
At the end of World War I the garrison barracks at Brieg remained for some years after without a stationed military regiment.
The Imperial German Army Air Arm (
Luftstreitkräfte) military
aerodrome (
Fliegerhorst) found in nearby
Grüningen was furthermore dismantled and destroyed as part of the Treaty of Versailles. It was not until 4 August 1930 that the 5th Squadron of
Cavalry Regiment No. 8 (
5. Schwadron Reiterregiments Nr. 8) of the German
Reichswehr arrived in Brieg from Breslau-Carlowitz, other cavalry squadrons from
Milicz and Oels followed shortly after. This resulted in the garrison's Tiede-Barracks (named after
Generalleutnant Paul Tiede) located in
Moltke-, Sedan-, Roon- und Bismarckstreet requiring some alterations to accommodate the new arrival of horse-cavalry residents. It was from Brieg garrison, the German Cavalry Captain (
Rittmeister) Konrad Freiherr von Wangenheim became famous for securing a Gold medal win at the 1936 Summer Olympics in
Berlin for the German equestrian team whilst suffering from a broken
Clavicle. In 1933 an airfield located in nearby
Hermsdorf was also built and thereby a much larger military aerodrome was established. The new aerodrome was occupied by Flight Reconnaissance Group 113 (
Fliegeraufklärungsgruppe 113).
Towards the end of World War II, on 6 February 1945, the Red Army captured Brzeg, which resulted in moderate destruction of the town's buildings and infrastructure.
History of the Jewish population
As the town was situated on the commercial route to Wrocław, in which a colony of Jews had long resided,
Jews settled there about 1324. The Jewish community of Brzeg had its separate place of worship from early times. In 1358 Jews lent money to local noblemen and the duke of Brzeg, Ludwig I, who granted the Jews freedom of movement in the duchy in that year. In the 14th century the Jews of Brieg were persecuted on account of their usurious practices; one outbreak of such violence occurred in 1362. In 1392 it was claimed that all debts of the duke had been discharged by the payments to a Jew of Brzeg (Jacob, the son of Moses), of a certificate of indebtedness. In 1398 the Brzeg Jews bought a letter of protection from the duke, whereby they were guaranteed the peaceful possession of their privileges. But in 1401 they were driven from the city, except Jacob and Seman von Reichenbach, who had received a patent of protection from the duke's council for six years from May 1, 1399. In 1423, duke Ludwig II granted the Jews rights of residence on payment of an annual tax of 20
Rhenish guilder, but they were expelled from the duchies of Brieg and
Liegnitz in 1453 as a result of the inflammatory preachings of the
Franciscan John Capistrano. Solomo, a capitalist, lent large sums of money to royal houses in the 15th century. In the 16th century, one of the local Jews served as a physician to the duke of Brieg.
With the decline of Wrocław as a trade center, the Jews of Brieg became little more than an isolated community; and in modern times they shared the lot of the other Silesian Jews. They carried on insignificant trade operations as a rule. The conquest of Silesia by Frederick the Great brought but slight change in their condition.
A Brzeg Synagogue was built in Brieg in 1799, and a rabbi was first appointed in 1816. The Jewish population numbered 156 in 1785; 376 in 1843; 282 in 1913; 255 in 1933; and 123 in 1939. In the Kristallnacht pogroms of 1938 under Nazi Germany the interior of the synagogue was completely demolished and the Torah scrolls publicly burned; numerous shops were ransacked. During World War II, from 1940 to 1944, the Germans operated a forced labour camp for Jewish men in the town.
Geography
Status
The shape of the town, including its neighbouring
Osiedle, is comparable to that of a deformed
rectangle, elongated north-south and west-east. The area of the town, including the village of Rataje, which was incorporated into Brzeg on January 1, 1973, is some . In comparison to Opole, with a total area of ; Nysa's and Kędzierzyn-Koźle's ; Brzeg is ranked fourth in the Opole Voivodeship by both population and area.
Topography
Brzeg, as the regional capital of
Brzeg County (
Powiat Brzeski), is located in the west of the Opole Voivodeship, in the south-east of Poland. The settlement is located in the
valley of the
Oder, located between
Opole 38.5 km to its east and Wrocław, to its north-west. The town has a predominantly flat
relief (in comparison to the
Cliff on the eastern bank of the river). The River Oder, at low water levels (predominantly between June and early September)
forms
Braided river north of Jerzynowa, Kępa and Srebrna Islands.
The locality is located in the Brzeg Plain (
Rownina Brzeska), part of the Silesian Lowlands.
The Brzeg Plain's boundaries are outlined by the Oder river to its north, the Nysa Kłodzka Valley to its south-east, the
of Grodków Hills and the Wawrzyszów Hills to its south. The western boundary of the Brzeg Plain is marked by the Oława Valley, along the Oder's mid-course.
The Brzeg Plain was formed by the Riss glaciation period (347,000 to 128,000 years ago), leaving behind remnants of a ground moraine from the last glacial period. The ground moraines have left two equally small hills, bearing characteristics of . The kames form the Łosiów Range ( Wał Łosiowski), between the confluence of the River Nysa Kłodzka and the Oława Valley. Small streams, having their sources around the range, are fed directly into the Oder in the region of Nysa Kłodzka and Oława.
Climate
Settlement and trade
The settlement of Brzeg, historically located in the regional unit of
Lower Silesia as opposed to
Upper Silesia, is due to the formation of a "przesieka" ("clearing"). The "clearing" was a lateral formation, extending northerly from the former
Sudetes Wildland to the southern
of the
Sudetes Mountains.
The clearing's characteristics set it as a point for defence in the
Lower Silesia region, lined with barrages made out of cut down woodland.
The Brzeg Plain was settled due to its
fertile soil, allowing for the earliest forms of agriculture to develop in the locality. The locality was first settled by
Silesians tribes and in later history, until 1675, by the
Piast duchies of Duchy of Brzeg, Legnica and Wołów, united under the Duchy of Legnica-Wołów-Brzeg. Presently, the region is spotted with numerous towns, including Brzeg, Grodków and
Strzelin, as well as villages, with agriculture providing the major source of income. The development of agriculture is met with a lack of forested areas, apart from the Stobrawa Landscape Park, located 7.2
Kilometre to the north of Brzeg and the
Oder river. The Stobrawa woodland, agriculture and the Oder (as a form of transport) provided Brzeg the necessary diversity to remain the regional trade capital in
Silesia.
Brzeg's geographical position between two trade routes, running from west to east (Legnica–Opole) and north to south (Gniezno–Nysa) and further on into the Kingdom of Bohemia, additionally stimulated the town's demographic and economic expansion. Brzeg is in modern times located between the European route E67 and E40.
Environment
Brzeg has five
public parks, three of which encircle the Old Town (
Stare Miasto), after the area was transformed into parkland with the deconstruction of the garrison town's fortifications during the
Napoleonic Wars in 1807. The parkland, surrounding the Old Town to its south, became known as the
Planty. The
Planty constitute of the Central Park of J. Czajkowski (
Park Centralny im. J. Czajkowskiego), with a total area of 6.1
Hectare. The Central Park contains an
artificial lake and a stream, connecting its waters to the western portion of the
Planty, the
Park nad Fosą. The Park by the Moat (
Park nad Fosą), with a total area of 3.7 ha, is located south of the
Brzeg Castle. The third and largest by area parkland surrounding the Old Town is located by the
Oder river, the Odranian Park (
Park Nadodrzański), with a total area of 10.9 ha. The castle, together with the town's fortification remnants, the Odrzańska Gate is located in the park.
The largest parkland in Brzeg, located in the south-west of the town is the Park of Juliusz Peppel (Park im. Juliusza Peppela) and formerly Liberty Park ( Park Wolności) having a total area of 68.8 ha.
Demography
History
Since the Early Middle Ages, the territory was inhabited by
Polish tribes. Later on, it experienced both
Germans colonisation and
Germanisation policies towards the indigenous
Polish people. According to the Prussian census of 1905, the city of Brieg had a population of 27,486, of which 93% spoke
German language, 6% spoke
Polish language, and 1% were bilingual.
After World War II, the town of Brzeg was part of the population transfers of the
Soviet Union and Polish People's Republic's campaign to resettle Poles from
Kresy (annexed by the
USSR) to the newly regained territories by Poland from the defeated
Nazi Germany, as part of the Potsdam Agreement. Per the agreement, the German population of Brzeg was expelled to either
West Germany or
East Germany. The newly arrived population in Brzeg predominantly came from the countryside, being former peasants.
The integration of the residents came in phases: education, communal work, marriages and the provision of material goods and items left behind by the former populace. By 1975, 37.9% of the population of Brzeg had settled in the town after 1960.
Breakdown of population origin of Brzeg in 1950:
|
| Total population | 12,771 | 100.0 |
| Local population | 824 | 6.5 |
| Migrant population | 11,947 | 93.5 |
Breakdown of migrant population origin of Brzeg in 1950:
|
| Warsaw | 469 | 3.9 |
| Warsaw Voivodeship | 365 | 3.0 |
| Bydgoszcz Voivodeship | 289 | 2.4 |
| Poznań Voivodeship | 533 | 4.5 |
| Łódź | 75 | 0.6 |
| Łódź Voivodeship | 529 | 4.4 |
| Kielce Voivodeship | 749 | 6.3 |
| Lublin Voivodeship | 387 | 3.2 |
| Białystok Voivodeship | 144 | 1.2 |
| Katowice Voivodeship | 747 | 6.3 |
| Kraków Voivodeship | 911 | 7.6 |
| Soviet Union | 5,144 | 43.1 |
| Other countries | 200 | 1.7 |
| Remaining | 1,405 | 11.8 |
Population change:
|
| 2002 | 38 841 | 2003 | 38 781 |
| 2004 | 38 550 | 2005 | 38 379 |
| 2006 | 38 163 | 2007 | 37 842 |
| 2008 | 37 625 | 2009 | 37 609 |
| 2010 | 37 346 | 2011 | 37 329 |
| 2012 | 37 261 | 2013 | 36 980 |
| 2014 | 36 675 | 2015 | 36 469 |
| 2016 | 36 381 | 2017 | 36 110 |
| 2018 | 35 930 | 2019 | 35 709 |
| 2020 | 35 226 | 2021 | 34 778 |
Main sights
-
The Renaissance Brzeg Town Hall (Rynek), surrounded by thirteenth-century townhouses.
-
Brzeg Castle, with an interesting adorned façade, host of the Brzeg Castle. The Brzeg Castle is referred to as the Silesian Wawel. The castle-complex includes the Chapel of St. Jadwiga of Poland.
-
St. Nicholas's Church (Gothic architectural style).
-
Holy Cross Church (on old castle square), (Baroque architectural style).
-
St. Jadwiga's Church, located by the castle.
-
St. Luke's Church, a church built in the Neoclassical architectural style.
-
Saints Peter and Paul Church, a Franciscans church built in the thirteen-century.
-
Christ's Resurrection Church, a garrison church built in the Baroque architectural style.
-
Baroque figures of John of Nepomuk and Jude the Apostle from 1722, standing by the façade of the Holy Cross Church.
-
Statue of the Trinity (on old castle square), raised in 1731.
-
Piast Gimnasium ( Gimnazium Piastowskie) founded in 1569.
-
Odrzańska Gate, part of the former fortifications; located in the Park Odrzański (Odranian Park).
-
Water tower ( Wieża ciśnień) by Rybacka Street ( ul. Rybacka), from 1877.
-
Residential townhouses:
-
Rynek 19, Renaissance façade from 1621 (reconstruction).
-
Chopina 1, Renaissance from 1597.
-
Jabłkowa 5, Baroque townhouse from 1715.
-
Jabłkowa 7, Empire style architectural style from 1797.
-
Old Garrison buildings ( Stare Koszary) from the Frederick the Great colonisation period.
-
Planty - remaining bastion fortifications around the medieval town. The fortifications were deconstructed in 1807, with the area transformed into the Planty Park.
-
Brzeg Synagogue from 1799.
-
River Boat Station ( Brzeg Marina) (on the east bank of the Oder), built in 2012.
Economy
Industry
Brzeg is the centre for industry and production in the
Brzeg County. The town's industries include the production of agricultural machinery, electric engines,
margarine and sugar production.
The largest concentration of industry in Brzeg is located in the town's eastern quarter, south of the Oder, with numerous manufacturers, including: the German Bartling GmbH (plastic packaging company);
Brzeg is also home to one of the largest confectionery companies in Poland, PWC Odra S.A. (founded in 1946). Presently, the firm is part of the joint-stock company Otmuchów Group.
Tourism
, Brzeg had the lowest number of foreign tourists in the Opole Voivodeship, with some 95% being national tourists. Per 1000 of the population, there are 1.60–3.89 available accommodations, which is behind nine of the eleven regional capitals (being at level with Kędzierzyn-Koźle) in the Opole Voivodeship, including
Opole, with 3.90–5.89 tourist accommodations per 1000 of the population.
Education
Brzeg has a total of 7,826 citizens in the potential education age group (3-24 year of age). The number of city dwellers in Brzeg that have completed
higher education is at 14.4% of the population, which is similar to the statistical average of the number of people obtaining
higher education in the Opole Voivodeship, being at 15.1%.
Data from 2015 indicates that 2.5% of the population of Brzeg have completed post-
lyceum (
policealne) education, with Brzeg having two post-
lyceum schools (
szkoły policealne): Medyczne Studium Zawodowe by Ofiar Katynia Street (medical practice institution); Policealne Studium Zawodowe – Zespół Szkół Ekonomicznych by Jan Paweł II Street (higher school of economics).
The population of Brzeg that is in the age of potential further education (aged 19–24) is 26.8%, out of which 27.1% are women and 26.6% are men.
Some 22.4% of the population of the town of Brzeg () has some sort of work-related further education (i.e. scholarship or college course). In 2015, 5.3% of the town's population participated in secondary education, while some 19.6% have attended primary education in that same year. The city council of Brzeg spends 33.3% of its annual budget on education, amounting to 35.2 million Polish zloty annually.
Post-secondary education institutions:
Public gymnasium (secondary school) institutions:
|
| Gymnasium No. 3 (Orlęta Lwowskie) | Bohaterów Monte Cassino 14 | 12 | 343 | 35 | Official Website |
| Gymnasium No. 2 | Poprzeczna 16 | 12 | 317 | — | — |
| Gymnasium No. 1 (Józef Piłsudski) | Oławska 2 | 9 | 225 | 26 | Official Website |
| Gymnasium No. 4 | Lompy 1 | 6 | 142 | — | — |
Transport
Brzeg is located at the crossroads of the National Road (northbound to Namysłów and Kępno; southbound to Wiązów and
Strzelin) and the National Road (westbound to Oława, Wrocław, Bolesławiec and
Zgorzelec; eastbound to
Opole, Strzelce Opolskie,
Bytom, Kraków, Tarnów, Jarosław and
Korczowa. The interchange to the Motorway (
Węzeł Przylesie) is located 14
Kilometres south of Brzeg.
Brzeg has well developed railway and bus transportation services. The PKP Brzeg railway station is operated by PKP Intercity and Przewozy Regionalne. The town has direct connections to Opole, Wrocław, Kraków, Warsaw, Katowice, Poznań, Szczecin, Zielona Góra, Lublin, Kielce, Przemyśl, Zamość, Nysa, and other cities. The Brzeg bus service is operated by PKS Brzeg, with ten bus lines around the town and Gmina Brzeg. The important routes are to Wrocław, Opole, Grodków, Namysłów, Nysa, Karpacz, Strzelin, Wiązów, and others. On Sunday, there is a special route to Szklarska Poręba.
In 2013, a hospital helipad was opened by Mossora Street ( ul. Mossora).
Sports
-
KS Cukierki Odra Brzeg – women's basketball team, 8th place in Sharp Torell Basket Liga in 2003/2004 season
Notable people
-
C. de Bridia (born 1247), Minorite friar, wrote the Tartar Relation (de Bridia meaning "of Brzeg")
-
Melchior Adam (ca.1575 in Grottkau – 1622), a German Calvinist literary historian.
-
Johann Heermann (1585–1647), German poet and hymnodist
-
Georg Gebel the younger (1709–1753), Prussian general
-
Leopold Wilhelm von Dobschütz (1763–1836), Prussian general
-
Karl Otfried Müller (1797–1840), a professor, scholar of classical Greek studies and philodorian.
-
Julius Müller (1801–1878), a German Protestant theologian.
-
Wilhelm Schuppe (1836–1913), German Positivism philosopher
-
Max Friedlaender (1852–1934), German musician and composer
-
Oskar Moll (1875-1947), German painter
-
Max Obal (1881–1949), German actor, screenwriter and film director
-
Alfred Kurella (1895–1975), German SED functionary
-
Johannes Brockt (1901–1980), German-Austrian musicologist and Conducting
-
Franciszek Gajowniczek (1901–1995), Polish Auschwitz survivor
-
Otto Thorbeck (1912–1976), German lawyer
-
Kurt Masur (1927–2015), German musician and conductor
-
Mieczysław Domaradzki (1949–1998), Polish archaeologist and thracologist
-
Adrian Tekliński (born 1989), Polish road and Track cycling
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Kamil Bednarek (born 1991), Polish reggae and dancehall musician and composer.
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Bartosz Białek (born 2001), Polish football player
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Paweł Salacz (born 1997), Polish handball player
Twin towns – sister cities
Brzeg is
Sister city with:
Gallery
File:Brzeg Op.JPG|Most characteristic building of Brzeg, Silesian Piasts Castle
File:Brzeg Castle 06.jpg|Northern side of the castle's courtyard
File:Brzeg Op zamek 02.JPG|Southern side of the castle
File:Fragment stawu w Parku Wolności w Brzegu..jpg|Juliusz Peppel Park, the largest public park in town
File:Brzeg, Poland - panoramio (20).jpg|Long Street, main high street
File:Brzeg Marina viewed from Piastowski Bridge.jpg|Marina by the River Oder
File:Brzeg, Poland - panoramio (45).jpg|Town square and tower
File:Brzeg_town_hall.jpg|Town Hall
File:Brzeg, Kościół św. Mikołaja - fotopolska.eu (261406).jpg|St. Nicholas Church and Brzeski Dom Kultury cultural centre
File:Brzeg kosciol sw Mikolaja 04.jpg|Interior of the church
File:Brzeg, Poland - panoramio (1).jpg|Holy Cross Church
File:1225m Brzeg, kościół św. Krzyża. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg|Interior of the Holy Cross Church
File:Poland Brzeg - Johann Kuben art in Feast of the Cross church.jpg|Church ceiling
Bibliography of Jewish Encyclopedia
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Brann, Geschichte der Juden in Schlesien;
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Jahrbuch des Deutsch-Israelitischen Gemeindebundes
External links
